Want to get better search engine rankings for your web site? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving your site to make it more accessible and attractive to the search engines, while also making sure it is useful to human visitors.

According to comScore, of the five major search engines, Google accounted for 63.1% of the searches conducted in October, 2008. That is more than three times the number of searches at Yahoo!, the second-ranked search engine. That means that most most SEO is aimed at Google, because a high ranking in Google can deliver lots of qualified visitors to your site. Of course, other search engines use criteria that are similar to Google’s, so if you rank well in one, you may rank well in others, too.

Fortunately, Google wants to help us help them index our sites. Although they are quite protective of the inner-workings of the ranking process, they do provide clues that can make indexing by Google easier and more thorough, which may elevate your site’s rankings.

Here area few of my favorite Google resources to help you optimize your site: [Read more…]

You may know that it is important to optimize your Web site for your keywords. But which keywords? The keywords customers actually use to search may not be what you believe them to be. And, some keywords may be too general to provide relevant visitors to your Web site.

It can pay to research keywords. My favorite tool is Wordtracker, and there are both free and paid versions.

Enter the term “Houston restaurant,” and you find that there were 43,472 searches for that term in one month. “Houston restaurant” might be too general, so let’s get specific. There were also 3,505 for “pizza restaurant Houston,” and 890 for “take out restaurant Houston.” Do a search for “Houston pizza,” and you find that there were 3,505 searches for “pizza restaurant Houston” and 3,550 for “pizza delivery Houston.”

If you have a pizza restaurant in Houston, you will want to include these terms on your Web pages. Include them in the title tags for your Web pages, in the headings on your pages, in meta tags and in the text. That does not mean just stringing together keywords in a random jumble. That means working words such as Houston, pizza, restaurant, delivery and take out into your content. Do not try to cram all of these terms on every page. Have a page focusing on delivery, another on take out, etc.

Meta tags are not visible when you look at a Web site. To see the meta tags for a site, while viewing it in your browser click on “View,” then “Source” or “Page Source.” You will see the underlying code for the page. Near the top, you will see codes beginning with “meta.” Look at your competitors’ sites to see what meta tags they use, but don’t assume theirs are good.

It is important to have your keywords in your title tag. It is even better if you can get keywords into your domain name. Put keywords in the headlines on your pages. Using keywords in graphics does not help, as the search engines will see a picture, not the words.

In addition to the title tag, be sure to include keywords in two other meta tags: description and keywords. Although most search engines do not place much value on the keyword meta tag any longer, it does not hurt to have a list of keywords there. Some search engines will display the description tag when your site comes up in a search, so make it enticing to get searchers to visit your site.

One thing you should not do is hide keywords. Years ago, a popular technique was to repeat your keyword over and over in text the same color as the background. The search engines are wise to that trick, and doing it now could get your site banned.

Using the right keywords throughout your Web site will help customers find you.

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips in Cathy’s newsletter. Subscribe at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

Design your web site with the search engines in mind, make it easy for them to index your site, and you will be rewarded with more visitors.

Copyright by Cathy Stucker, The Idea Lady(tm)

Once you have a web site, you want people to find it. Design your site with the search engines in mind, make it easy for them to index your site, and you will be rewarded with more visitors.

Don’t assume that your web designer is qualified to optimize your site. Many designers use Flash intros, Java Script navigation and text imbedded in graphics. These may look cool, but they will make it difficult or impossible for search engines to read what is on your site.

Don’t pay $49 to get your site submitted to 4,000 search engines. Most search results are delivered by just a few search engines and directories: Google, Yahoo, Teoma and the new MSN search.

To find out if your site is in the search engines, go to a search site and search for your domain name, such as “www.mywebsite.com”. If it doesn’t show up, you can submit your site (look for a link to add a URL). However, the fastest way to get indexed is to get a link from a site already known to the search engines. Ask a friend or colleague to link to you from their site.

In ‘Search Engine Optimization for Dummies,’ (Wiley Publishing, Inc.) Peter Kent offers several quick tips to immediately make your site more search-engine-friendly.

Get rid of frames. Search engines will typically only see the frame and not the main content of the pages.

Maximize Meta tags. Meta tags are not displayed when a user views the site, but are read by the search engines. If you want to see the Meta tags on your site or any other, in your browser click on “View,” then “Source” or “Page Source.” The important tags are “TITLE” and “DESCRIPTION.” These tags will be used by the search engine to determine what the page is about, and some will display them in search results. Make sure both “TITLE” and “DESCRIPTION” reflect the content of each page and that they include important keywords. The “TITLE” tag should be just below the “HEAD” tag, with the “DESCRIPTION” tag just below it.

Use keywords throughout the page, making sure the most important keywords are near the top of the page. Many search engines give extra importance to keywords in headings, so use H tags. Search engines may also look at keywords in bold and italics, or in bulleted lists, as being especially important on the page.

Links to other pages within your site should be text (not images), and should include keywords, not simply, “Click here.” For example, “Click here for our catalog of discount office supplies.”

Keywords should be used multiple times on a page, but a particular word shouldn’t make up more than five to ten percent of all the words on a page.

Have a good navigation system with text links. A site map is useful to visitors and the search engines.

Search engine optimization is an ongoing process, but with just a few simple steps you can make your web site more visible.

There are two reasons to get links to your Web site: To improve search engine rankings, and generate targeted traffic to your site. Keep both goals in mind when seeking links.

To identify sites already linking to you, go to a search engine and enter link:http://www.example.com (where “example.com” is your URL). Yahoo and MSN will provide more comprehensive results than Google.

Also search for sites that link to your competitors’ sites. How did your competitor get a link? Can you get one, too?

All links are not equal. Search engines give greater weight to those coming from popular and respected pages. One way to determine a site’s importance is by the Google Page Rank. (Page Rank can be viewed on the Google Toolbar. Download it at http://toolbar.google.com/)

Exchanging links with other sites can bring visitors to you, but the consensus of most search engine experts is that reciprocal links are not as important to the search engines as they once were. When seeking reciprocal links, exchange links only with quality sites in your topic area, and do not link to sites unless they have value to the people who visit your site.

Here are some ways to get quality inbound links to your site:

Get links from dozens or even hundreds of sites by posting articles of 250 – 800 words to article directories such as http://www.EzineArticles.com/ and http://www.iSnare.com/. Posting articles to these sites will generate quality links now and in the future as other sites republish your articles.

Articles must be informative, not promotional. A few tips, a how-to on doing something, or a solution to a problem make good articles. Each article you post will contain a resource box. This is a brief paragraph that tells about your business and gives readers a reason to contact you, along with a live link to your site.

Submit your site to directories. Some allow free submissions, others charge. However, it may be worth paying for some directory listings (e.g., Yahoo) to get a respected link. One of the best is free: http://dmoz.org/. Additional directories can be found at http://www.directory-pages.com/

Press releases get wide distribution on the Internet, and provide lots of incoming links. Press releases should be newsworthy. That means that they are not promotional pieces, but they offer timely or useful information.

Press releases can be posted at http://www.PRWeb.com/. Services such as press release writing, editing, distribution, and more can be found at http://idealady.prwebdirect.com/

Posting helpful comments to forums and blogs can generate links and targeted traffic. Seek out blogs and forums that attract the customers you want. When you post, be sure to include a brief signature file with a link to your Web site.

You may find opportunities to get links as you are doing online research or going to sites you visit regularly. Take advantage of them. For the best results, take a gradual, phased approach, adding links on a regular, consistent basis.

As the Idea Lady, Cathy Stucker helps entrepreneurs and professionals attract customers and make themselves famous. Get free marketing tips at http://www.IdeaLady.com/

Links can bring traffic to your site, but there are other benefits, too. A factor that influences your search engine rankings is link popularity. The quantity and quality of links to your site is considered by many of the major search engines. So, how do you get more links to your site?

Links can bring traffic to your site, but there are other benefits, too. A factor that influences your search engine rankings is link popularity. The quantity and quality of links to your site is considered by many of the major search engines. So, how do you get more links to your site?

Here’s what NOT to do: Don’t submit your site to a bunch of those ‘free for all’ link and ad sites. All you’ll get is a lot of spam, and many search engines take a dim view of sites listed in such places.

In a recent article, I suggested posting press releases to online services such as PRWeb.com. The search engines index those archives, so include a link to your site in the press release.

Of course, one effective way to get links is to link to quality sites in your field, then ask for a reciprocal link. Although they aren’t required to do so, many will link back to you.

If you belong to an organization, see if they offer free (or paid) links to members’ sites.

A solid local seo plan is a must. Consider joining or starting a web ring. Web rings are groups of sites with a common theme that are linked to each other through a navigation bar. For more information about joining an existing web ring, or creating your own, go to http://www.webring.org/. It’s free.

One of their strategies is to write a testimonial for a product or service you like and submit it to the company. Often, the company will use the testimonial with a link to your site. Want to try this one right now? Submit a testimonial for one of my products or services. If I use it on my web site, I’ll include a link to your site. (I may also use it in off-line materials, with your web site URL listed.)